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Apologies don't work anymore for Kyle Busch

CONCORD, N.C. — Although he’s said it before, this time Kyle Busch insists he finally has learned to behave in NASCAR. But unlike the other times, it’s easier to believe him.

The sanctioning body parked him for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series races last year at Texas, and his older brother Kurt was fired by legendary car owner Roger Penske for berating his team and a television reporter.

Nobody at Joe Gibbs Racing will say just how close M&M’s came to pulling its sponsorship, but new ground rules by the sponsor and the suspension and his brother’s downfall have served as a necessary wake-up.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t seem like me not changing anything is helping anything,” Busch said during the NASCAR Media Tour. “I have to change something. I just have to figure out what that is and make it work for me.”

The younger of two Busch racing brothers has many well-noted transgressions. He once threatened to kill teammate Denny Hamlin after the all-star race. He was caught driving 126 mph in a residential area last year. He was fined for making an obscene gesture toward a NASCAR official.

At the same time, the 26-year-old already has won 23 Sprint Cup, 51 Nationwide and 30 Camping World Truck series races. For the most part, car owners and sponsors have been willing, often reluctantly, to put up with his behavior because of his success.

Over the line

Intentionally crashing Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution at Texas last November was too much for anyone — NASCAR, M&M’s and Gibbs — to accept.

Two weeks later, his older brother was abruptly fired for doing the same thing at Penske.

Young Busch now must work at toning down his “Rowdy” nickname.

“I’ve had a lot of fans, whether it’s been in meeting them in person or seeing them on Twitter or whatever, they all tell you, ‘Don’t change anything; we love the way you are and keep that attitude.’ I didn’t have much work to do with the people that are closest to me. Those people are utmost supportive of me,” he said.

“It’s disappointing, (similar to) your kid getting in trouble at school or something happening in a baseball game. You’re disappointed in their reaction but you still love them, you still stick up behind them and help them through that.”

Busch has started a Nationwide Series team, and the driving duties will be split between the Busch brothers. For now — and perhaps under the direction of M&M’s — he has no plans to drive any truck races.

The new season not only offers a fresh start, it moves him further from his past.

“You get an off-season and you’re not racing so you kind of miss the bug a little bit,” he said. “You spend some time relaxing and hanging out and just letting the new year come to you. For me, I’ve been ready. I think I’m pretty well versed in what we need to have happen this year and what we’d like to have happen and what we’d like to see.”

It’s a lot for a racing organization to ask Busch to change, especially when his old formula produced a lot of wins. But at some point, everyone, including Busch himself, realizes his emotions were spiraling out of control.

Gibbs said his team has crafted a game plan to keep Busch focused more on racing hard and staying out of trouble. While it’s not easy to change a personality, the alternative is being unemployed.